Zinc-L-Carnosine

Zinc-L-carnosine (ZnC), also called polaprezinc, is a zinc and L-carnosine complex rather than a simple mixture of the two ingredients (Mahmoud 2022, PMID: 36235778). In a randomised crossover trial in 10 healthy volunteers, 37.5 mg twice daily for 5 days supported small bowel barrier integrity during indomethacin dosing, and the authors concluded that ZnC stabilises gut mucosa at concentrations likely to be found in the gut lumen (Mahmood 2007, PMID: 16777920). No cited trial compared the complex head to head against zinc alone or carnosine alone, so Avelor makes no claim of superiority over either. The often quoted 75% reduction in gastric damage comes from the rat arm of that same paper, at 5 mg/ml, not from human participants. Doses in the verified human evidence were 37.5 mg twice daily for gut permeability and 75, 150 or 300 mg for serum zinc, where a dose-response relationship was seen for both serum zinc and gastrointestinal adverse events (Furihata 2020, PMID: 32316581). Avelor reports this ingredient as supporting gut barrier integrity and helping maintain serum zinc status, not as a therapy for any condition.